Jack of All Ages
by BizzyLizzy
Summary: Jack experiences some side effects following 'Brief Candle'.


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SPOILERS: Brief Candle

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Maybe Pelops was cleverer than people give him credit for and planned revenge if anyone interfered with his plans.

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Jack of All Ages

Jack had been cooped up in the infirmary for long enough. Since his return from Argose and his recovery from the effects of the nanocytes, Dr Fraiser had been keeping him under observation in the infirmary just to make sure he really was recovered and that there weren't any of those bugs still left in his system. Actually, after the first day Dr Fraiser had released him to his own quarters under strict orders not to leave the base until she cleared him, deciding that her nursing staff did not deserve one angry, irritated and bored Colonel O'Neill on their hands.

Storming down the corridors on his way to the infirmary, Jack found his way surprisingly clear, at least on the latter part of his journey. Word had started to get around right after he chewed out an airman as he exited the elevator and the rest of the personnel on base knew better than to cross Jack when he was in that kind of mood. 

Dr Fraiser was waiting for him as he burst into her office.

'Three days!' Jack snapped at her. 'Three days you've had me locked up in this god-forsaken hellhole. If I don't get out of here soon I swear I'm gonna…' he paused for breath and was interrupted before he could continue his verbal tirade.

'Colonel O'Neill. COLONEL!' Dr Fraiser shouted down the irate O'Neill. 'I've just had your most recent test results back and they're all clear so I'm releasing you on condition that you take a few days off and contact me every twenty-four hours. Is that understood?'

'…thanks, doc,' Jack was a bit stunned. He normally had to fight a lot longer than this in order to get a release from the base's CMO. 'Well, in that case the fish are waiting…' and without uttering another word he was out of the office and heading for the locker room to change.

Half an hour after being released by Dr Fraiser, Jack was in his jeep and on his way to his cabin, enjoying the scenery and the sense of freedom the long drive gave him after being held prisoner by his own body.

It was late by the time Jack arrived and in spite of his protestations that he was back to normal, he found he had stiffened up during the long drive and was actually very tired. Grabbing his bag and box of groceries from the car, he unlocked the cabin and dropped everything down in the kitchenette. Only taking enough time to make some hot chocolate in the microwave and drink it to warm himself up, he headed straight for bed, pausing to take off his shoes and pants. He found he was shivering in spite of the warmth and, rolling himself up in the thick comforter, fell asleep immediately.

************

Janet tapped on Sam's door, poking her head around when she received a mumbled 'Come in.' Sam was munching a bar of chocolate and tapping away at the keys on her computer.

'Hey, Janet, what's up?' Sam asked, smiling warmly at her friend. 'Want some?' She offered the slab of chocolate to Janet who absent-mindedly broke off a sizeable portion and took a large bite.

'I was wondering if you'd spoken to Colonel O'Neill today,' Janet asked casually, but not casually enough to escape Sam's notice.

'No - why?' Sam looked at Janet closely, wondering what was going on.

'Well, when he left, I gave strict instructions for him to contact me every twenty-four hours as I need to make sure there aren't any unforeseen side effects from those nanocytes.' Janet paused, then continued. 'He left yesterday morning and he hasn't been in contact at all and it's now nearly 1900.'

'Have you tried his cell phone?' Sam queried.

'Several times, but I'm not getting any reply.'

'You don't think it's the Colonel just being the Colonel do you?' Sam asked, not really believing it herself.

'Well, I hope that's all it is but I am concerned. Those little beggars are an unknown quantity and there could have been side effects. I'm beginning to regret my decision to allow him to go off now,' Janet looked harassed, worried that Jack could be in some kind of trouble and out of reach of help. 'Mind you, if he is just playing around, then he'd better watch out.' There was a fierce expression on her face as she spoke, making Sam hope for the Colonel's sake that he was sick or else he would be in big trouble.

'What about Daniel and Teal'c?' Sam suggested.

'No luck there either, I already checked with them.' Janet paused before continuing. 'I'm going to have to see General Hammond - someone needs to get out there to check up on him.'

Sam, as second-in-command of SG1, accompanied Janet. If one of the team was in trouble then it was up to either Colonel O'Neill or herself to do something about it.

Twenty minutes later Janet had brought General Hammond up to date on the situation.

'What's your recommendation Doctor?' Hammond asked. That was the good thing about the General, he was always willing to listen to his people, to take advice from them and if that advice was not acted upon would give an explanation wherever he could.

'Someone needs to get up there to make sure he's not suffering from any side effects,' Dr Fraiser informed him.

'Agreed. We do need to ensure we maintain security, however. Dr Fraiser, I am authorising you to retrieve Colonel O'Neill, you will be accompanied by the remainder of SG1,' Hammond glanced at Sam, seeing the look of relief when she realised she wouldn't just have to sit around waiting for news. 'If there is still no word by 0600 tomorrow, I will have a plane waiting for you at Peterson. Dismissed.'

***********

Sam had slept on base that night as she wanted to be at hand in case there was any further news. A pounding on the door closely followed by someone bursting in, snapping the light on and shaking her shoulder frantically woke her up.

'Ok, ok, I'm awake. What's the hurry?' Sam sat up and looked for an answer from Dr Fraiser.

'We need to leave immediately,' Janet informed her, 'I've already spoken to the General and the plane is waiting for us. I'll explain on the way.'

Used to obeying orders, Sam threw her clothes on, grabbed the pack she had got ready the night before and was on her way to join the rest of her team and Janet at the elevator.

As they made their way to the surface, Janet started to explain.

'I had a new nurse start when Colonel O'Neill first got back from Argose,' she said, 'Not being familiar with some of the more unusual aspects of the work here, coupled with the Colonel's normal attitude when he's in the infirmary, she managed to muddle up a number of blood samples, including the Colonel's. When I examined his sample, it was all clear. As it would be considering it actually came from Captain Browning and was just a routine post-mission check up.'

Janet paused at this point in order to sign out at the last checkpoint and climb into the car waiting to rush them to the airbase.

'Lieutenant Wilson came to me last night when she came on duty to tell me she thought there was something odd with Captain Browning's results. As soon as I saw it, I realised something must have happened. Lt Wilson eventually admitted what had happened - she'll be dealt with later.'

'And?' Sam prompted, afraid she knew where this was going.

'There appeared to be some form of nanocyte left in Colonel O'Neill's blood. They're not the triangular shaped ones we saw before, they seem to have mutated slightly and there were only a very few of them, but I have no idea what they'll do to him this time. We also can't afford to have anyone else find him now due to the classified nature of the situation.'

'Does this mean that O'Neill will begin to age again?' Teal'c asked.

'I really don't know. It's certainly a possibility, but we need to find him as quickly as possible. The fact that he's been out of contact for nearly forty eight hours now is a major concern.'

Very little else was said on the journey to Minnesota. Various people started a conversation but it soon fizzled out, while Teal'c spent the journey in kel'noreem, preparing himself for whatever challenges lay ahead.

After a seemingly interminable plane ride, they eventually landed at Miller airfield where they were shown to a waiting car and were relieved to at last be on their last leg, expecting to arrive at Jack's cabin in just over an hour.

***********

Sam pulled the car up in front of the cabin, seeing Jack's jeep parked out front. No one came out at their arrival, so they climbed out of their car, stretching cramped and aching limbs. Daniel wandered to the front of the cabin to take a look around and his voice called them to his side, looking in the direction he was pointing.

'What the…?' Sam exclaimed.

They watched a boy of around fourteen sitting on the edge of the dock with his bare feet dangling in the water. He had reddish coloured hair and he was absorbed in watching his fishing line. Standing watching the scene for a few moments, half expecting Jack to emerge from the cabin or the woods at any time, Sam eventually decided it was time to do something.

'Colonel,' She called out, 'Colonel O'Neill?'

In response, the boy, alerted to their presence dropped his fishing rod in the water, took one look at the new arrivals and ran to the cabin, slamming the door closed behind him and they could hear sounds of a bolt being drawn across. As he'd run past them, too fast for them to attempt to stop him, they had noticed he was wearing cut off trousers and a t-shirt that was hanging off his skinny body.

Concern growing now as to what had happened to Jack, Daniel moved toward the cabin, speaking as he did so.

'Hi, my name's Daniel,' Daniel hesitated then continued, 'We're looking for a friend of ours who lives here, have you seen him?'

Daniel heard a gun-shot then felt a white-hot pain in his shoulder. Grunting in agony, he fell to his knees while Janet hurried over to administer medical treatment. Teal'c meanwhile had approached the cabin with more caution and peered in through the window at the side of the building where he could see the gun now lying half way across the room as though it had been thrown there and he could just make out the boy sitting crouched against the door, hugging his knees to his chest and rocking himself.

'How is he?' Sam was asking Janet.

'Oh, he'll live,' Janet smiled at Sam and Daniel. 'Fortunately the bullet only skimmed your shoulder.' With deft fingers Dr Fraiser soon had the wound cleaned and dressed, leaving Sam to help Daniel to his feet. Just as they finished up, Teal'c moved up to them.

'I do not believe we are in any further danger from this child,' Teal'c announced solemnly. 'He appears to have frightened himself with what he has done.'

'Ok, so now what?' Sam looked perturbed, this child was possibly their only clue in locating their missing team member, and they had to try to get him to come out, to talk to them.

'Well, what was one of the most important things when you were that age?' Janet asked.

'Boys?' Sam volunteered.

'Learning to become a warrior, to become worthy to receive my first Primta.' Teal'c suggested.

'Reading.' Was Daniel's contribution.

Rolling her eyes that she had to pick one of the most un-normal teams available to ask that question of, she answered it herself.

'Food.' She said simply. As she said it, she received agreeing nods from the other three as they remembered that time during the early teens when they just couldn't seem to get enough to eat.

'So?' Daniel queried.

'Well, I suggest we light the barbecue over there and prepare something to entice our young stray out of the cabin. Daniel, you come with me and we'll go get some supplies.' Leaving Sam and Teal'c to fire up the barbecue with the charcoal laid ready and waiting, Janet and Daniel departed in the car.

A little over an hour later the smell of gently barbecuing meat wafted through the area around the cabin and inside, to the nose of the boy sitting in there, refusing to come out.

As the four SGC members stood around with platefuls of food, the sound of a door opening reached their ears. Not wanting to scare the boy again, Sam quietly filled a plate with food and placed it a short distance away from where they were standing, then moved away from it. Hesitating for only a moment, the boy snatched the plate and retreated to a point far enough away from them to feel safe, but where he could keep an eye on what was going on.

The boy polished off his food very quickly and looked longingly towards what was still on the grill keeping warm. While he had been eating, Sam and the others had been keeping an eye on him surreptitiously. As soon as Sam noticed the looks the remaining food was getting she smiled at the boy and received a small, shy, uncertain smile in return.

*That looks familiar* Sam thought to herself, then shrugged her shoulders and spoke.

'There's plenty more here if you want to come help yourself.' 

The boy hesitated briefly, then scuttled towards the grill, refilled his plate and retreated again, this time not going quite so far, but still watching the other people closely, ready to bolt at the first sign of danger or a threatening move. When he had finished his second plateful he began to relax a little, now no longer hungry, he took more of an interest in what was going on. 

He watched the easy chatter of these strangers and longed to be part of that little group who seemed so friendly with each other, to belong to each other. He didn't have anyone, he was on his own and could not remember a time when there had been anyone there for him. 

Sam detached herself from the group and headed slowly towards the boy, hands held up in front of her in a gesture symbolising she was unarmed and didn't mean to hurt him. Stopping while she was still several feet away, she smiled again and introduced herself.

'Hi, I'm Sam Carter - can you tell me your name?'

'Jack,' came the response, slipping out before he gave any thought to who these people might be and what they wanted. He was surprised at the startled look in her face, though.

'Well, hi Jack. It's nice to meet you.' She paused, looking at the others who had heard this exchange, then back at Jack who was looking decidedly nervous at this attention. With a small jerk of her head, the others backed off a little, allowing the two a little privacy.

'So…What brings you here?'

'Fishing.'

'Caught anything?' Only a shake of the head in response. 'Your parents around anywhere?' Another shake of his head. 'Are you here on your own?' A nod this time. 'How long have you been here?' This time, the boy looked confused and shrugged his shoulders. Before she could ask anything further Jack interrupted her.

'Are those two married?' He asked, pointing to where Janet was checking the dressing on Daniel's arm, while Daniel was protesting loudly that it was fine and he didn't need anyone fussing over him.

Sam laughed lightly, 'No, but they are friends. I guess when people know each other really well it can seem like they are married.'

'Is he mad at me?' Jack asked again, this time in a small, uncertain voice, his eyes dropping to the ground as though afraid of the answer he was going to hear.

'No, Daniel understands it was an accident, that you didn't mean to hurt him. He's not hurt badly, he'll be fine in no time.'

Jack looked relieved, but remained silent.

'So…' Sam was finding this difficult. 'Where do you come from?'

'Here.'

'You mean you live near by?' Sam spoke in a puzzled voice. Suspicions were beginning to creep into her mind, but she wasn't ready to voice them yet.

'No, I belong here.'

'Ok. We came here looking for a friend of ours - he's called Jack too, Jack O'Neill - have you seen him around?'

'But that's me.'

'No, no, I know you're Jack, but I'm looking for the Jack that we know, Jack O'Neill.'

'I'm Jack O'Neill.' Just a statement, calmly announced. The boy didn't appear to think it odd that these people were looking for someone with his name, someone who should be at this cabin.

About to start on another tack she noticed the boy start to shiver and she became aware that darkness had descended and there was a decided nip in the air.

'Look, it's getting cold out here, would you mind if we came into the cabin with you?' Sam smiled at him reassuringly. The boy considered her request for a moment then, liking what he saw of these people, nodded his head and led the way.

Together they walked into the cabin, followed by the others. Daniel wandered around the cabin, picking things up and putting them back down again. He picked up a photo frame of a young boy, aged around six. He studied the picture, glanced at the boy sitting next to Sam on the couch, then back at the photo. A question starting to form on his lips, he caught a look on Sam's face, a faint shake of the head and he remained silent, but watching Sam and the boy sat next to her intently.

'Jack, can you tell us when you arrived here?' Sam was asking the boy.

'I've always been here.' 

'What did you do yesterday?'

Jack looked puzzled, trying to think further back than this morning when he had been fishing. 'I don't remember,' he shrugged in response.

'Can you tell us anything about yourself - how old you are, who your parents are?' 

With a shake of his head, the boy burst into tears when Sam's voice had hardened slightly as she found her suspicions may be confirmed. The boy buried his head in Sam's side, despite his age he seemed to be behaving like a younger child, and she found herself wrapping an arm around him, holding him close, and reassuring him that she wouldn't ask him any more questions. After a few minutes the sobs subsided but he remained snuggled up to Sam, feeling comfortable and safe there. He looked around at the other people with him and began to feel there was something right about this situation. His eyes fell on Dr Fraiser and he sat upright.

'What's wrong?' Sam asked him.

'She does stuff to you doesn't she?' Jack said, pointing at Dr Fraiser.

'What kind of stuff?'

'You know, she pricks you and pokes and prods you. Its not very nice.' Jack pulled a face, reminiscent of the Jack O'Neill they all knew. Janet glanced at him in surprise, about to speak up when Jack opened his mouth wide in a big yawn, his eyes suddenly grown heavy with the warmth and the feeling of a full stomach.

'You want to go to bed?' Sam asked. Jack nodded and stood up. Teal'c also stood to escort their young companion to his sleeping room, but Jack promptly sat back down again, huddling against Sam once more. 

'Would you prefer it if I came with you?' Daniel offered instead, his offer being accepted and Jack followed Daniel out of the room.

Ten minutes later Daniel returned, reporting that Jack had fallen asleep more or less straight away.

'Sam, what was all that about - you think that…' Daniel began to speak.

'I think that is Colonel O'Neill, yes.' Sam allowed the voices rising in protest to quieten down before continuing. 'Look, that photo of his son over there - don't you think it's a bit of a coincidence that this Jack O'Neill could be an older version of that child? That he cannot remember anything about his life before we found him here today? He also knows about your tests, Janet, and that face he pulled? Didn't anything about that seem familiar?' She appealed to her friends.

'It's possible that the nanocytes in his blood have mutated and are de-aging him now, as opposed to aging him,' Janet looked at Sam, 'And yes, I have to agree that the boy looked just like Colonel O'Neill when he's undergoing routine tests and examinations. I would say that this is the Colonel.'

'Ok, so now what?' Sam looked around for inspiration.

'We need to get him back to the base as soon as possible and figure out how to reverse this process.'

'Agreed,' Sam spoke firmly, with authority. 'For now, I suggest we make ourselves comfortable for the night and leave first thing. Anyone want coffee?' Heading for the kitchen, Sam put the coffee on, absently washing a used mug with the remnants of hot chocolate while she waited.

**************

Jack woke early the next morning to hear the sound of someone using the shower. Taking a few moments to figure out what was going on, he remembered his visitors from yesterday. Throwing back his covers and leaping out of bed in one easy movement, he pulled on the cut off trousers and t-shirt that seemed even bigger today as a plan formed in his mind. Racing silently downstairs, thankful that there were no signs of anyone else waking yet, he ran into the kitchen, grabbed the pepper pot and unscrewed the lid as he made his way back up the stairs. Holding the pepper carefully, Jack cautiously pushed the door open and peered around it to get a good shot at whoever was inside.

The next moment he was face to face with a tall, black man with a towel wrapped around his waist, a large 'X' shape marked across his stomach. Even as he watched, he could see something squirming inside the stomach and, very frightened now, Jack turned away causing the door to fully open, throwing the pepper pot behind him as he ran.

Teal'c suddenly aware that he was being watched called out rather more loudly than he intended after the fleeing figure.

'O'Neill, it is alright. Come back.'

Jack, not pausing in his flight continued down the stairs where Teal'c could hear a door banging closed behind him. As he made to follow, he was caught up in a fit of sneezing, soon joined by his three companions who had all emerged to see what was happening, only for them to be caught up in the effects of the pepper as well. Teal'c ushered them all out of the cabin and in to the open air where most of them were able to resume normal breathing once more.

Daniel, however, was wheezing heavily, struggling to catch his breath as yet another one of his allergies kicked in.

'I didn't know you were allergic to pepper,' Dr Fraiser spoke up even as she made Daniel sit down and take slow, deep breaths. 'It wasn't in your medical notes.'

'That's because…I didn't…know myself.' Daniel gasped between breaths. 'No one has ever thrown a pepper pot at me before. Another one for the list.' As his words became more coherent Janet realised he was recovering well now and just needed a little more time get over the effects.

'What happened?' Sam demanded once order was restored.

'I believe the young O'Neill was attempting to play an efficient witticism upon me and became alarmed at the sight of my symbiote moving within its pouch.' Teal'c responded, causing a few puzzled looks at his words.

Daniel's face suddenly showed he had understood what Teal'c had been saying, 'Practical joke, Teal'c.' Teal'c inclined his head to accept the correction then resumed speaking.

'Indeed. We must now endeavour to find the boy before he is able to hurt himself or he gets too far away.'

'Ok. Janet, how's Daniel doing?' Sam asked Dr Fraiser.

'I'm doing fine, thanks, Sam,' Daniel replied for himself.

'You are, but I need you to take it easy for another half hour or so, make sure your lungs have recovered sufficiently,' Dr Fraiser added, ignoring the glares being aimed at her.

'Fine, in that case Teal'c, you're with me and we'll start looking, as soon as you're up to it Daniel you join us. Janet, I want you to stay here in case he comes back. You've all got your cell phones?' Sam organised them and shortly she was walking with Teal'c away from the cabin, following tracks that only Teal'c could see.

**************

Several hours had passed. Daniel had searched the area on the other side of the cabin but could find no trace of the missing Jack. Sam and Teal'c had also reported a lack of success. Teal'c had followed Jack's trail to a stream, then had lost it. Sam and Teal'c had separated, one going upstream, the other down, but could find no trace of where Jack had emerged. Eventually Sam, deciding that enough was enough, called the others and told them to make their way back to the cabin.

'So, what now?' Sam asked, looking at the faces sitting around the lounge area. They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Sam stood up abruptly.

'I wonder…' she mused, half to herself as she headed out of the cabin and towards their car. Reaching into the front of the car, rummaging around in the glove box with one hand as though she were looking for something, she peered into the back seat of the car. Moving around to the rear door, she opened it and spoke softly to the figure curled up on the floor, fast asleep. 'Hello there.' Jack's eyes flew open and he struggled to sit up as though he were trying to get away from her.

'Go away, you're going to hurt me. Leave me alone.' The words tugged at Sam as she realised how badly the child had been frightened by what he had seen earlier.

'It's alright, Jack, really.' Sam soothed him, sliding onto the rear seat where Jack was now sitting, placing a hand on his arm reassuringly. 'We're your friends, we won't hurt you, we just want to help you.' Jack stared at her for a few minutes, evidently liking what he saw because he place a hand trustingly in hers and allowed himself to be led out of the car and towards the cabin where the others were waiting.

'How did you know…?' Janet asked.

'It's something I used to do when I was a kid. I'd get in a mood with mum or dad, I'd run off then come back and hide in the car.' Sam smiled to herself, reminiscing, before adding. 'The first time it took them nearly eight hours to find me. Jack,' Sam looked at Jack now sitting huddled up next to her on the sofa while he watched what was going on, 'I need to talk to Dr Janet for a minute, will you sit with Daniel and Teal'c?' Jack looked worried for a moment, then scooted to sit on the arm of the chair Daniel was sitting in, gradually worming his way onto the chair itself until the two of them were squashed together. Daniel, a big grin on his face, pulled Jack onto his lap and started tickling him. Sam smiled, relieved that Jack felt safe with someone else as well.

'Janet, is it my imagination or…?' Sam asked.

'No, I would say he's gotten younger. He now appears to be around nine years old. We've got get him back to the SGC as soon as possible - if we leave it too long, we could end up with Colonel O'Neill as a baby or…' Janet left the sentence unfinished, looking at Sam who understood that the Colonel could return to a time before he was even born.

'Ok, well, I'm just going to check in with General Hammond again, then we'd better leave.' Janet returned to her seat, while Sam watched the scene before her as she used her cell phone to report in. Jack, glancing towards her jumped off the floor where he had been sitting with Daniel playing rock, paper, scissors, and tugged impatiently at her arm. Sam quickly finished her call and turned to Jack.

Jack, saying nothing, grabbed her hand and tugged her upstairs and into his room where he pulled open a drawer containing the pieces of a cell phone.

'I didn't know what it was, but it kept on making noises and I wanted to figure out where it came from.' Jack looked a little contrite. 'I found a screwdriver, but I couldn't fix it again after. I never found where the noise came from either.'

'Oh, ok,' Sam was a little taken aback. The Colonel had never struck her as the investigative type of child. 'Well, this is actually a portable phone, it's called a cell phone. You can use it just about anywhere and you don't need to have it plugged into a phone socket.' Sam paused as she saw Jack digesting the information. 'You want to speak to Daniel on it?' Jack nodded eagerly and Sam showed him which buttons to press on the speed dial.

Jack had an intent look on his face as he heard the ringing tone, then the phone was answered.

'Hey Daniel, it's me. Sam showed me how to use her cell phone. Isn't it cool?' Jack prattled away as he raced down the stairs until he was standing watching Daniel talking to him over the phone. Daniel waved at him and finished the call.

'That was fun - do you have cell phones too?' Jack looked with pleading eyes at Teal'c and Janet, his initial fear of Teal'c apparently eased now. As he received their nods, he snatched Sam's phone again and went outside, peering in at them through the window. 

He looked intently at the phone in front of him, pressed a few buttons and soon heard first Janet's voice, then Teal'c as he held short conversations with them both while waving excitedly at them through the window. They watched his reaction with smiles on their faces, seeing parts of the Jack O'Neill they knew coming through in the boy.

After a few more minutes, Jack came racing in, demanding to know who Gen Hammond was and could he call him too as his number was on Sam's speed dial. 

'That may not be…' Sam began, but was interrupted by Daniel with a glint in his eyes.

'Why not? I'm sure the General wouldn't mind.'

'What's a General?' Jack asked, watching the discussion going on between the two of them with anticipation in his eyes, hoping they'd let him call someone else. He hadn't had so much fun in a long time.

'Tell you what, why don't you ring him and ask him that yourself?' Daniel said, glaring at Sam, daring her to challenge his words.

Jack didn't need any further encouragement and quickly pressed the right buttons and soon received an answer.

'Hello, this is Jack…are you General Hammond?…Your number was on Sam's phone and Daniel said I could ring you…yeah, they're here now, but they said I could ask you something…Do you have a cell phone?…Aren't they cool?…No, that wasn't my question actually, what I wanted to know is what is a General?…Does that mean you're very important? Sweet…And do the others have to do what you tell them to?…Cool…You could order them to do some real fun stuff, you know, like making them go fishing with you when you got bored of Generalling…oh, yeah, sure. Nice speaking to you General. Bye.' Jack finished his call and handed the phone back to Sam, a big grin on his face. They'd only heard one side of the conversation and could only guess at the expression Hammond must have had on his face and what he had said. Sam winced to herself as she imagined what he would have to say to her when they got back.

'I want to be a General when I grow up,' Jack announced to them, not seeing the smiles on the faces of his companions.

'Ok, now Jack,' Sam pulled Jack back on to the couch next to her, talking more seriously now. 'You know we're your friends, don't you?' Jack nodded. 'Well, we need to take you back home with us, to a place called Cheyenne Mountain. That's where General Hammond is.' Jack hesitated for a moment, then spoke up in a small voice.

'But I wanted to catch some more fish,' his lower lip started to tremble as though he were about to cry.

'I know, sweetheart,' the word slipped out from Sam's mouth without her realising. 'But you will have chance to come back and fish another time, I promise.' Jack looked at her, then nodded slowly, accepting his lot for now.

**************

Jack had fallen asleep at last. On the journey back to Miller, Jack had talked non-stop. Asking questions. Why is the sky blue? Why don't the birds fall out of the sky? Why does it get dark? And many, many more. Sam had tried to answer some of them but in the end gave this task to Daniel who seemed to relish the challenge, at least initially. Eventually, a short time after the plane had taken off, Jack had fallen asleep, curled up on the seat beside Daniel, one of Daniel's arms wrapped protectively around his 'friend' who was now dressed in new sweat pants, sweatshirt and sneakers purchased in a store on their way.

Sam was now talking.

'General Hammond is sending SG2 back to Argose to find out if they are having similar problems and he's got Dr Warner checking out the blood samples taken from Colonel O'Neill before he left the base to see if there's anything new there. Other than that, there's nothing else we can do until we return and can run some more tests on the Colonel. How's he doing, Daniel?'

'Still sleeping,' Daniel replied with a quick glance at the figure sitting beside him. 'Who'd have thought he'd be so curious as a child - do you reckon he was really like this?' No one seemed to know the answer and silence soon descended as they each considered possible courses of action to try to help Jack.

As the plane was coming in to land at Peterson, Daniel gently woke Jack who stretched and yawned sleepily as his eyes fell on Daniel.

'Are we there yet?' Jack asked, in that way so familiar of children.

'Nearly, the plane will land in a few minutes and there's a car waiting to take us to Cheyenne.' Jack nodded, accepting Daniel's explanation.

It was not until they were heading towards the car that they realised it had happened again. Jack had gone from a nine-year-old to a seven year old during the plane ride.

'Sam, I think he's getting younger when he sleeps,' Janet pulled Sam to one side before getting into the car. 'We need to keep him awake, see what effect that has. If he loses a year or two each time he sleeps…' She didn't need to finish her sentence. 

************

'Will you please sit still, Jack,' Dr Fraiser spoke in an exasperated voice. If she thought an adult Jack O'Neill was impatient in her infirmary, then a seven year old was even worse. He had wriggled when she was trying to take blood and when taking his blood pressure. The moment her back was turned he was off the bed and exploring the infirmary, picking up various instruments and equipment lying around, pretending a scalpel he had found was a sword, waving it around and nearly slicing off Daniel's ear when he tried to recover it. Eventually all the tests were completed and Dr Fraiser turned to Daniel.

'Dr Jackson, please take him and find him something to do before my staff all walk out in protest,' she pleaded. Daniel grinned at her and held out his hand to Jack.

'You want to go get something to eat?' Daniel asked him, at his enthusiastic nod, Daniel led him out of the infirmary to leave Dr Fraiser and Sam to try to work on returning Jack to his normal self.

Jack had a plate containing hamburger and fries in front of him which he was wolfing down hungrily, his eyes drinking in everything that was going on, not missing a thing.

'Why are they all watching me?' Jack asked suddenly.

'Well, children aren't normally allowed on the base so they're probably just wondering why you're here,' Daniel informed him.

'Oh,' Jack considered that for a moment, then stood up on his chair and spoke in as loud a voice as he could manage, 'Hi, I'm Jack and I'm here with my friend Daniel.' Daniel smiled apologetically at the amused glances he was receiving and pulled Jack back into his seat, telling him to finish his dinner before it got cold. Jack, happy now that people knew who he was and could stop wondering at him, finished his burger and tucked into the blue Jell-O and ice cream Daniel had fetched for him.

Sitting back in his seat once he had finished, he patted his stomach in a satisfied way. 'That was good. What do we do now?'

Daniel considered this for a moment, but before he could make a decision a figure approached their table.

'Dr Jackson, I was told I might be able to find you here,' he said.

'You're General Hammond aren't you,' Jack piped up as soon as he heard the voice. 'I recognise your voice from that phone thing.' He leaned closer to Daniel and tried to speak quietly, 'He doesn't look very important, he looks kind of cuddly.' Daniel suppressed a snigger as he realised General Hammond had heard everything and was trying to hold back a grin of his own.

'Yes, I am General Hammond and I take it you are Jack?' 

'Yes, sir,' Jack informed him. 'I've just spent _hours_ in the infirmary and Dr Janet told Daniel he had to take me away and play with me before her nurses went for a walk.' Jack looked pleased with the reaction he had caused.

'I see,' General Hammond said, then in an aside to Daniel, 'So no real change in personality then. Well, it was nice to meet you Jack, I'll leave you in Dr Jackson's capable hands then.' 

'Are you a doctor too?' Jack asked curiously. 'How come you don't want to take my blood?'

'I'm not that kind of doctor,' Daniel explained. 'There are several different types of doctor. Some are like Dr Fraiser and they look after you in hospitals, then there are doctors like Sam and I. That means we know a lot of about a particular subject. I know lots about languages and archaeology.'

'What is ar…arcy thingy?' Jack stumbled over the long word.

'It's the study of really old things, it helps us to learn about our history.'

Jack seemed satisfied with this response and sat quietly for about thirty seconds. 'What are we going to do now?' He asked.

'Would you like to draw a picture?' Daniel suggested, racking his brain to try to think what a seven year old would like to do. He was pretty sure Jack would not be interested in books like he had been at that age. Jack nodded, jumped up and waited impatiently for Daniel.

*************

There were drawings pinned up all over Daniel's office. They had only been there for an hour and Jack had shown a talent for art. After getting bored with only using a pencil, Daniel had called Siler and asked if they had any poster paints lying around, and Siler had somehow managed to produce what was required.

Daniel decided that Jack had done enough painting when he glanced up from the book he was reading and realised that there was more paint on Jack than there was on the paper and took him off to the locker room to get cleaned up before snagging a couple of the pictures and heading to Sam's lab to check on progress.

'Hey Jack,' Sam greeted him with a big smile on her face. 'What have you been doing?'

'Painting,' Jack said with an equally big grin. 'Look - I did this for you.' He handed her a painting that she supposed was herself.

'Why thank you, Jack. I'm going to pin it to my wall just here.' Sam matched her words with actions and received an even bigger grin of appreciation from the boy.

'I made one for you too, Dr Janet,' Jack handed another picture to Dr Fraiser, which was also received with a smile. 'Whatcha doin?' He asked.

'Dr Janet has found something in your blood which shouldn't be there and now we need to get it out.' Sam informed him.

'Oh.' Jack considered this for a moment. 'How?'

'Well, we think that you had a fever which triggered a virus, and then it was probably activated by the frequency from a microwave.' Sam had remembered washing up the hot chocolate mug and figured out that Colonel O'Neill had heated the milk up in the microwave. All she had to do now was work out the right wavelength. 'What Dr Janet and I are doing is testing different frequencies to see which one will…' Sam's voice trailed off as she realised she had lost Jack's attention, his eyes glazing over. 'I guess you don't really need to know all that. What are you two going to do now?' She asked instead.

Daniel rolled his eyes at the question, then made a suggestion. 'You ever played computer games?' He asked Jack. Jack shook his head, looking intrigued. 'Great, well, I'll introduce you to some of my favourites.' 

Janet held Daniel back before he left the room. 'It's getting late and he's going to be tired pretty soon - you must make sure he stays awake. We're getting close to the correct wavelength now, but we need a little more time.' Daniel nodded his understanding and went to join Jack.

************

It was nearly midnight and the novelty of playing computer games had worn off for Jack. All he wanted to do now was go to sleep and he was starting to whine.

'But why can't I go to sleep. I'm tired. I want to go to bed.' He looked like he was about to burst into tears, so Daniel decided to try more food.

'How about a midnight feast in General Hammond's office?' Daniel suggested, relieved when Jack's sulkiness suddenly disappeared at the thought of doing such a daring thing.

Soon, two figures could be seen sneaking up the stairs from the control room into General Hammond's office. They settled themselves under the desk with just a torch to provide light for them. Daniel spread out the food they had collected from the mess hall and Jack looked at him with a conspiratorial twinkle in his eye.

'This is fun. Can I have some chocolate now?' Jack asked. After twenty minutes, though, Daniel could see Jack's eyes starting to droop with weariness. Before he could decide on what to do next, they were startled to hear footsteps heading towards them.

'Someone's coming,' Daniel hissed at Jack, 'Keep quiet now.' Daniel could feel Jack quivering partly with fear at being caught somewhere they shouldn't be and partly with excitement.

A light was snapped on and they could see someone's legs settling themselves into the chair behind the desk. Jack, unable to contain himself let out a giggle.

The legs moved away rapidly, to be replaced by a round face peering under the desk.

'So that's where you got to,' General Hammond said, a big smile on his face. He had seen the faint torchlight in his office and the sergeant on duty in the control room had told him he had seen the pair of them heading up this way. 'Dr Jackson, would you care to explain?'

'Well, I didn't think you would mind and I wanted to do something to keep Jack awake,' Daniel informed him as he crawled out from under the desk, holding his hand out to Jack to help him out.

'So, Jack,' Hammond turned his attention to the boy. 'What have you and Dr Jackson been up to then?'

'I painted some pictures, then I played some computer games then we came here for a midnight feast. I like being here. It's fun.' Jack informed him solemnly.

'Well, that's good, son. What would you like to do now?'

'I want to go to bed but Daniel won't let me. Will you let me go to bed, sir?' Jack looked pleadingly at the General.

'I'm sorry, Jack, but Dr Janet says you need to stay awake or the virus will spread. I know it's hard, but can you be brave and try to keep awake?'

Jack considered this request for a few moments then nodded. 'I'll try,' he said looking doubtful. 'Can I play another computer game now?' 

Daniel nodded and took Jack back to his office where the computer was waiting for them.

***********

A steady 'beeeeep' disturbed Daniel. He raised his head from the uncomfortable position of resting on his book and realised the source of the noise was due to the keyboard on the computer being pressed down by a small head resting on it, sound asleep. Cursing to himself that he had not only fallen asleep while watching the young Jack, but had not prevented Jack from sleeping as well, he leapt up and gently tried to waken the boy. Jack reluctantly stirred and turned heavy eyes to Daniel. 

'What time is it?' Jack murmured sleepily.

'Time to go visit Dr Janet,' Daniel announced, realising with a start that the previously seven year old Jack now appeared to be only five.

'Ok.' Standing up stiffly and clutching the proffered hand he walked unsteadily beside Daniel as they made their way to Sam's lab.

'Daniel, you let him sleep didn't you?' Janet exclaimed as she took one look at Jack.

'Sorry, but I think we must have both fallen asleep.' Daniel looked so sorry for himself that the two women could not remain angry with him.

'Well, lucky for you I think we just hit on the right wavelength,' Sam announced happily. 'We were just about to come and fetch you. Hey, Jack,' Sam bent down and smiled at the still sleepy Jack, 'We found out how to get rid of that virus we found in your blood. Will you sit there, please?' Sam pointed at one of her stools. Daniel helped him up and returned to stand with Sam, who switched on the transmitter. They heard a crackling noise that Sam left on for two minutes, then switched it off. 'That's it.' Sam announced, 'Now we need to go to the infirmary.' Sam held out her hand and Jack clutched it with one of his, checking behind him to make sure Daniel was coming as well. He didn't like the idea of being in the infirmary alone with Dr Janet.

Janet was studying a blood sample under a microscope. 'Well, it looks like it worked,' She informed them. 'The nanocytes are no longer active and appear to be breaking up. It's just a matter of time now.' Seeing Daniel giving a huge yawn, she smiled and suggested he head to bed. 'Teal'c can sit with Jack for a while,' she informed him. Nodding reluctantly, but realising he really couldn't keep awake any longer he headed off to bed, allowing Teal'c to watch over the now sleeping child.

*********

Making his way to the infirmary the following morning, Daniel bumped into Janet and Sam. They entered the room to see Jack just waking up, looking around the room curiously as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. The adults present looked at each other in disappointment. The Jack before them was still five years old.

'It didn't work,' Sam spoke in exasperation. 'Now what?'

'Well, I guess we take some more blood samples and see what is going on,' Janet spoke up, fetching the required instruments. 'Ready Jack?' The look on Jack's face was resigned, as if accepting the inevitable and they could see the Colonel in the expression. As soon as she was done, she turned to Sam. 'I could use some help on this one, I'm just not sure what we can do. One thing, at least he hasn't gotten any younger so the de-aging process may have stopped.'

'You mean he could stay like this?' Daniel asked. 'He might have to grow up all over again?'

'I don't know, Daniel, I hope not.' Janet responded. 'Can you watch him this morning while we try to figure out some more answers?'

Daniel spent the morning keeping Jack entertained, trying to find outlets for a seemingly endless source of youthful energy. After chasing round the corridors playing hide and seek and tag, Daniel was relieved when Jack showed signs of flagging and happily settled down to playing with some construction blocks someone had brought in for him.

Keeping half an eye on Jack, Daniel made a start on cataloguing some artefacts brought back by another team. A tug on his sleeve caught his full attention.

'I'm hungry,' Jack announced. Daniel nodded, and stood up, holding out his hand for the boy. Jack stood there looking at him sullenly. 'Don't want to hold your hand - holding hands is for babies. I'm not a baby, I'm a big boy.' And Jack puffed his chest out and stood up straighter as if to prove his point.

Daniel did a double take and realised Jack was right. Instead of the five year old he had collected from the infirmary this morning, Jack looked as though he were now nine.

'Fair enough.' Was all Daniel said. 'We need to stop by the infirmary first though, Sam and Janet will want to join us for lunch I think.' Grinning mischievously to himself, Daniel led Jack towards the infirmary, pausing as they reached the bench where Sam and Janet were working.

'Anyone want lunch?' Daniel asked, noticing the two scientists had not looked up from their work.

'I can't understand it,' Janet was saying. 'According to these results, that treatment should be working.'

Sam stood up to greet the new arrivals and stopped in mid stretch. 'Uh, Janet,' she tapped Dr Fraiser on the shoulder. 

'You go ahead, Sam,' Janet waved her away, 'I'll grab something later.'

'Janet,' Sam spoke more loudly. 'I think you might want to see this.' Janet turned away from her bench with a scowl on her face that changed to a big smile as she realised what Sam had been trying to tell her.

'Well, that is good news. How are you feeling Jack?' Janet greeted him.

'Hungry - can we go get something to eat now?' Jack was beginning to sound impatient.

'In a minute - I just want to take a quick look at you…'

'Again?' Jack snapped. 'You've been doing nothing but poking and prodding since I got here. I'm hungry.' The last words came out as a whine, surprising all those present at the tone.

'Well, this won't take long, and the sooner you co-operate with me, the sooner you can get some food. Ok?' Jack nodded grudgingly and submitted to more blood tests alongside the usual pulse, blood pressure and temperature. 'Your blood pressure and temperature are slightly raised, but I would imagine that is a side effect of what is going on. Did someone mention something about being hungry?' Janet smiled at Jack who beamed back at her this time, glad that he would be able to do something about his empty stomach at last.

**********

The adults around the table had long since finished eating. Jack, however seemed to have developed an enormous appetite. He had wolfed down a couple of hamburgers, three portions of fries, turned his nose up at the salad Dr Fraiser tried to get him to eat and was now in the process of finishing his meal with his fourth portion of chocolate cake. At last he pushed his plate away, leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach.

'That's better,' he announced. 'Now what?'

'Well, what would you like to do?' Daniel asked him.

'Computer games?' Jack asked hopefully.

'If you like,' Daniel responded. 

'Can we go to Sam's room this time, hers is more interesting than yours,' Jack said. 'Yours is full of old rocks and stuff and that's really boring. Sam's got some really cool things in her room.'

'Tell you what, Jack, why don't we give Daniel some time off - want to see if you can beat me on the computer?' Sam suggested.

'Easy,' Jack scoffed. 'You're a girl - girls can't play computer games.'

'Well, that's a challenge if ever I heard one. Come on then,' Sam spoke with a twinkle in her eye.

Two hours later, Daniel leaned against the wall in Sam's lab, his arrival going unnoticed by Jack who was desperately trying to beat Sam's high score. Eventually, when he was still several thousand points short, he lost his last life and dropped the game pad in disgust.

'This is boring,' Jack announced. 'I'm hungry - can we go get some more cake?'

'It's only been two hours since lunch, Jack, you can't be hungry already,' Daniel responded, making Jack aware of his presence now.

'Can.' Jack began to look sulky and Daniel realised that it looked like they now had a full-blown teenager on their hands. 

'Sam - did you notice…?' Daniel asked.

'Yep - although it's only just become really noticeable in the last half hour. Shall we go feed him again?'

'May as well - I can always find room for another coffee anyway,' Daniel said.

By the time Jack had eaten another two slices of cake he appeared to have aged another couple of years and looked to be around fifteen. He was becoming less communicative, responding to Sam and Daniel in grunts, that's when he responded at all.

'Well, I guess we better get Dr Fraiser to check him out again,' Sam informed Daniel, getting up to escort Jack.

'Not going.' Jack announced.

'Jack, we are not going to argue about this are we?' Sam said in her most authoritative voice. 'You are going to the infirmary. You can either walk with me or I can have you dragged there kicking and screaming. Which is to be?'

Jack sat there sulkily for a few moments before grudgingly climbing to his feet, kicking his chair back so hard that it fell over and stalking off in the direction of the elevator with Daniel and Sam following closely behind.

************

'Hey Doc, need to me to take anything off?' Jack was asking Dr Fraiser.

'No, just roll your sleeve up,' Janet sounded exasperated. She had dealt with a number of complaints from her staff, starting right after Jack arrived in the infirmary and now he was trying her patience too. 'Ok, that's all done, you can roll your sleeve down now.' Janet turned away briefly to place the tube of blood she had taken on the tray beside her when she felt a hand on her backside. 'That's enough of that, young man,' she whirled around and gave him one of her basilisk glares, which had him looking at least a little shamefaced. 'Now, I want you to wait here while I go and have a word with the others.'

In her office she turned to the rest of SG1. 'Ok, what we have here is a very hormonally imbalanced young man. It's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Jack is going to go through puberty in a matter of hours with all the associated trauma and hormonal problems. I think we can expect an interesting time.' She glanced at the others, all pulling faces except for Teal'c who rarely appeared disturbed. 'We will also need to make sure someone keeps an eye on him at all times, and Sam, I really don't think it would be a good idea for you to spend too much time around him at present, not after his earlier behaviour, although I doubt he'll try that again in a hurry.' Sam and Janet grinned at each other. 

Before they had arrived at the infirmary, Jack had tried to kiss Sam right in the middle of the corridor, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. A surprised Sam had instinctively used an unarmed combat manoeuvre on him and he had found himself face down on the floor, one arm pinned behind his back by an angry Sam.

'Very well. I will take on the task of supervising O'Neill.' Teal'c informed them. 'I do not believe I will experience these problems.'

'Teal'c, was that a joke?' Daniel asked suspiciously, receiving only a raised eyebrow in response. 'Never mind. I'll come with you, though.'

'Thanks guys,' Janet said. 'Well, there's really no reason to keep him here any more, so I suggest you take him somewhere he can find an outlet for all that male bravado he's so full of at the moment - preferably where there aren't any women around - it won't hurt to take precautions.' As they stood to leave the office, an urgent knocking at the door and a harassed face peered around at them.

'Dr Fraiser?' Nurse Richards said. 'I'm afraid Colonel O'Neill seems to have disappeared.' She hesitated, not wanting to divulge the rest of the information.

'And?' Janet fixed her with a steely glare.

Richards gulped, then let the words stumble out. 'I don't think he's alone. One of the new technicians was in here with a burnt arm and she seems to have gone as well.'

'Thank you nurse, we'll take it from here.' Janet dismissed the nurse and turned back to the others. 'I guess we better find them before it's too late.'

Twenty minutes of frantic searching went by before Teal'c and Daniel met up in one of the corridors leading from the infirmary. Daniel had paused outside a storage room where he was sure he could hear giggling. Beckoning Teal'c over, Daniel threw the door open and was thankful they had arrived just in time. Jack and the young cadet were both in a state of undress, wearing only underwear that looked like it was about to be removed. As Jack became aware of an audience, he scowled and hurriedly began throwing his clothes back on, his actions mirrored by a shamefaced cadet, who, as soon as she was decent pushed past Teal'c and Daniel and raced off to a more private location to recover from her embarrassment.

'O'Neill, what is the meaning of this?' Teal'c thundered.

'None of your business,' Jack replied sullenly. 'What do you care anyway? I'm leaving.' He tried to push past Teal'c, but Teal'c refused to allow him to leave just yet.

'I'm afraid your behaviour indicates that you cannot be trusted at this time.' Teal'c informed him. 'Therefore I will escort you to a room where you will be more secure.'

'You want to lock me up?' Jack sounded incredulous. 'That just aint gonna happen, campers.' Without warning, Jack ducked his head down and charged straight into Daniel, sending him flying. Daniel's head crashed hard against the opposite wall and the last thing he was aware of was Teal'c grasping Jack firmly in one hand while he picked up the phone to summon help with the other.

***********

'I think he's waking up.' Daniel could hear a familiar voice reaching through the fog and haze.

'Daniel?' Another familiar voice was speaking now. 'Daniel, I want you to open your eyes for me. Come on now, I know you can hear me.'

Keeping his eyes squeezed shut to avoid getting the glare from the penlight he knew was waiting to shine in his eyes, he mumbled 'How do you know?'

'Daniel, if you don't open your eyes right now I'm going to keep you in the infirmary for a week and get Nurse Reed to give you bed baths.'

Daniel's eyes shot open. He knew the nurse had a crush on him and always made bed baths last a lot longer than they should. 

'There, just a little bit of persuasion normally does the trick. How are you feeling?' Janet asked him.

'I've been better, but I'll live.' Daniel grimaced at the doctor. 'Where's Jack?'

'Teal'c put him in one of the holding rooms,' Sam told him. 'After he sent you flying he became extremely agitated and violent - Teal'c needed two SF's to help him out. Last I saw, Jack was kicking the door and threatening to break it down.'

'Ah. What progress is he making?' 

'Well, he's aged another few years, but I would say it's gonna be another four or five hours before he returns to normal.' Janet supplied.

'Well, in that case, I think I'll catch up on some sleep,' Daniel yawned, and his eyes slid shut, the effects of the concussion he had received still much in evidence.

************

Several hours later Daniel could feel someone shaking him awake.

'Whaat?' He mumbled sleepily.

'Daniel, wake up,' he could hear Sam hissing in his ear. 'You're gonna want to see this for yourself, I think.'

Daniel sat up abruptly then wished he'd moved more slowly as his head reminded him of the concussion. He remained still for a few moments to regain his composure then looked questioningly at Sam.

'Jack - Colonel O'Neill appears to be back to normal. Teal'c sent for Janet to check him over and I came to get you.'

Daniel hastily threw on a robe over his regulation scrubs, pulled on some boots and followed Sam to the holding cell where they could clearly hear Jack's angry voice.

'Teal'c - will you just let me out of here for crying out loud - what do you think I'm going to do? Shoot you or something?' 

'Hi Jack.' Daniel greeted the now adult O'Neill. 'Actually, you already did that, remember?' Daniel pointed to his still sore shoulder.

'Ah, yes, well, about that Daniel…' Jack made an attempt at an apology, but was saved by the arrival of General Hammond. 'General - can you tell them to let me out,' he paused, then added almost as an afterthought, 'Please.'

'Dr Fraiser, what's your verdict?' Hammond asked the doctor.

'Well, sir, as far as I can tell, Colonel O'Neill has returned to his old charming self,' She paused before continuing. 'But I think it might be as well to keep Teal'c with him for the next few days.' 

'Doc - I'm back to normal, I'm me - I don't need someone to make sure I behave myself,' Jack protested.

'Actually, Colonel, I was more concerned for your well-being,' Janet grinned at him slyly. 'I believe you have a lot of apologies to make and I'd like to make sure you live to give them.'

'You mean that wasn't all just a bad dream?' Jack looked a little sheepish now. 'I really did and said all that? All of it? Including…?'

'Yes sir,' Sam advised him, 'You did threaten to use the General's head as a bowling ball if he didn't let you out.'

Jack grimaced as he recalled some of his rather undesirable actions: being caught in a compromising position with a cadet; informing Sam and Janet that they were women and didn't belong in the Air Force, that they should only be allowed to work in the kitchens; chasing after Janet's nurses in the infirmary; connecting up a stereo to the internal communications for the base and playing rock and roll music really loudly; shooting Daniel, then knocking him out.

'I think I might just stay here for, oh, let's just say the next few years, let it all die down,' Jack retreated back into the holding cell and made to sit down.

'No you don't, Jack,' Daniel grabbed his arm, 'You owe us an apology in a big way, and I think you should start with cleaning up the mess you made of my office, then you can take us all out for the day tomorrow, including meals. And we get to choose where we want to go, then…'

Jack sighed, resigned to his fate and whatever tortures the rest of his team could dream up for the following day as revenge and retribution.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

Hope you enjoyed it - feedback always appreciated.

****

DISCLAIMER: The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-1, the goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-1 Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.


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